Christmas Cards
by montypython203
Summary: A belated Christmas fic. JackIanto. Ianto always found the sending of Christmas cards unnecessary, until a card from Gwen threatened his relationship with Jack.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: Christmas Cards_

_Rating: T_

_Summary: Ianto always found the sending of Christmas cards to be unnecessary - until a card from Gwen threatened his relationship with Jack._

_Pairings: Jack/Ianto of course! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. _

_Author's Note: I wanted to get this up sooner. I thought of the idea on Christmas Eve, and wrote the first chapter on Christmas night. But then it got longer than I anticipated..._

**Christmas Cards**

For Ianto Jones, the sending of Christmas cards was one of those necessities that didn't actually seem all that necessary. While it was certainly thoughtful to let others know that they were appreciated at this time, he found a phone call to be much more personal.

It cost less, too.

In any case, giving Christmas cards to work colleagues seemed a completely redundant exercise. Ianto reasoned that, given that you saw these people every day, there were plenty of opportunities to wish them a happy Christmas. Sending such a message in card form, if anything, seemed to suggest that the sender was too afraid to openly speak to the receiver.

Gwen Cooper, however, did not share Ianto's views, as on Christmas Eve, after finishing a meeting in the board room, Gwen stood up to distribute cards.

"Here you are, Ianto," Gwen said, giving Ianto the card. Ianto murmured his thanks and opened the card. There was a Christmas message printed on the card, as well as Gwen's own handwriting, which read:

_To Ianto,_

_Merry Christmas,_

_From Gwen._

Ianto turned to Toshiko, who was sitting next to him.

"What does yours say?" he asked.

" 'To Tosh, Merry Christmas, From Gwen'," read Toshiko. Ianto rolled his eyes. Gwen had probably scribbled the cards at the last minute, along with the other hundred or so that she gave to everyone else she knew. The same messy handwriting and the same message on every card. Ianto looked up to see that Gwen had just handed Jack his card. As Jack took the card from Gwen he gave her a 1,200 watt grin, immediately causing Ianto to feel pangs of jealousy.

"Excuse me," he said, making his way out of the board room. As he left, he couldn't help but glance a look at Jack's card out of the corner of his eye, and what he saw made him fume with anger:

_To Jack,_

_Merry Christmas,_

_Love Gwen._

* * *

_Oh no, whatever shall Ianto do? I decided to post this all at once, so the next chapter is ready and waiting!_


	2. Chapter 2

It took Ianto a moment to calm down.

"That fucking _bitch!"_

Okay, so maybe he needed another moment. But the fact remained that he was furious at Gwen. It had been blatantly clear that she had flirting with Jack for months, but he had always assumed that it was just in her nature. She'd slept with Owen, after all.

But this crossed the line. Gwen had taken it too far by expressing love, in any form, to Jack. Ianto considered his options. His first thought was to confront Gwen out in the open, but Jack would probably accuse him of causing a scene and acting like a jealous boyfriend (which, in all honestly, he was). He then considered the possibility of slipping a bar of chocolate into Gwen's pocket and letting Myfanwy loose... no, that was too messy. And he'd probably have to be the one to clean it up.

In the end he decided to fight fire with fire. If Gwen could express her feelings to Jack through a Christmas card, then so could he.

The only problem was, he hadn't written a Christmas card in years.

There were a few spare cards in his desk drawer for some reason. They must have belonged to a previous employee who was as eager about Christmas cards as Gwen. In any case, Ianto was relieved at the convenience of this. But what to write? He didn't want to just do a short message like Gwen's – he wanted this to be more personal. He liked to think that he knew a lot about Jack, though of course he knew that that wasn't true. However, he hoped he knew enough to give him a message that really meant something.

_God, I feel like a schoolgirl writing a message to her first crush!_ he thought to himself, more than embarrassed at the situation. But he knew this was necessary, and he would act like a schoolgirl as much as was needed if it meant keeping Jack from Gwen.

And he tried as much as possible to ignore the fact that feuding with a girl over a guy you both liked was about as schoolgirly as you could get.

* * *

Ianto cleared his throat as he approached Jack. Everyone had gone back to their desks now, so Jack was alone. Just how Ianto wanted him. Although, it would have been nice to see Gwen's reaction as Jack read the card... too late now.

"Excuse me Sir," said Ianto, for a moment forgetting that he and his boss had been on first name terms for quite some time. Jack looked up at him quizzically, noticing the card with a cartoon snowman on it.

"Yes Ianto?" said Jack.

"Happy Christmas," said Ianto quickly, handing Jack the card and striding back to his desk as fast as he could. Jack watched, bemused, then turned his attention to the card. He had never thought Ianto to be one to give Christmas cards, especially not ones with cartoon snowmen on them. Curiously he opened up the card to read the message inside:

_Dear Jack,_

_Thank you for making me believe that life is worth living. Your kindness and your willingness to give second chances has made me a whole new man, and I'm eternally grateful._

_Sincerely,_

_Ianto_

Jack smiled as he read the card.

_Well, _he thought, _the polite thing to do is to give a card back_. Jack still had some cards hidden away somewhere. He very rarely gave them, but he had them there anyway, just in case. And _this_ was that just in case.

* * *

"Ianto," said Jack. Ianto had been staring into space for a while now, and was slightly shocked as he heard Jack's voice. He immediately straightened up in his desk. Jack closed his eyes for a moment as he forced back a grin, then handed over his Christmas card.

"Happy Christmas," he said, echoing Ianto's previous words. Then, like Ianto before, he turned and strode away, though it was clear that he felt a lot more confident than Ianto had. Ianto, meanwhile, felt relieved at the simple fact that he had received a card back. He was sure that Jack hadn't given a card to Gwen, though he had of course not been paying attention to the world for some time as he was thinking of a scenario involving Jack wrapped up in a big red bow...

Before his mind could slip again, he looked at the Christmas card. This one had a cartoon Santa on it. Ianto opened the card up, and was immediately hit by the words inside:

_Dearest Ianto,_

_Anything that you have felt is not because of me, but because of you. You're a truly amazing person, and I feel so honoured to know you. Thank you for putting your trust in me – after leaving you I feel like I don't deserve it._

_Yours,_

_Jack._

Ianto was staring Jack's words for so long that he almost forgot where he was. He couldn't believe how sentimental the other man was being. Surely, he had beaten Gwen.

And yet, he somehow felt something was wrong. He had wanted to give Jack a card to combat Gwen's, but now Jack had given him back a card that he felt was far superior to his own. He felt the need to give Jack another card, if only to show that he could express more emotion if he wanted. He found another card – this one played 'Jingle Bells' when you opened it. He tried to stifle the sound of the music as he wrote on the card, however it was clear from the looks on the faces of the others that his efforts were unsuccessful. He finished quickly, but hopefully with a message that was short, yet sweet.

_To my Jack,_

_I know we can't have forever, but when you're around every moment feels like eternity._

_Ianto._

Reading and re-reading the card, Ianto thought about how he'd never written a message like this – not even for Lisa. If anything, it proved just how strong his feelings were for Jack. And he certainly hoped that Jack would be impressed. Ianto made his way to Jack's office, and once again gave him the card.

"Aren't you a little old for passing notes, Ianto?" asked Jack teasingly as Ianto turned to leave. A shade of pink came across Ianto's face.

"You can talk," he replied, though he then mentally kicked himself. The last thing he wanted was to constantly be reminded of the age difference between him and Jack, even if it wasn't all that noticeable. Jack, however, grinned and sent Ianto on his way. He then opened up the card and, after reading it, decided that he wanted to continue playing this little game with Ianto.

* * *

Jack merely cleared his throat as he handed Ianto the next card. Ianto, though he was enjoying this game with Jack, was starting to feel aware that the situation had gotten somewhat out of hand. He had only wanted to keep Jack away from Gwen, after all. He decided that this card of Jack's would be the last:

_Ianto,_

_I can never die, but it's when I'm with you that I truly feel alive._

_Love,_

_Jack._

Ianto froze. Love. Jack had said 'love'. Ianto had spent many hours in Jack's company, but never before had the L word been used. And while Gwen had used it in _her _card – and Ianto was aware that in that context, the impact wasn't as strong – he couldn't go any longer without finding out for sure how Jack felt about him. He reached into the drawer for another card, and was annoyed when all he could find was a birthday card with a man playing golf on it. He decided it would have to do.

This time, Ianto didn't even make a noise. He just walked into Jack's office, left the card on the desk, and walked right out again. He was making a big leap doing this, and he hadn't wanted to engage in eye-contact with Jack lest he lose himself completely. Jack, of course, was unaware of this as he opened the card, and read the words that touched him inside:

_Dear Jack,_

_I love you._

_Love (um, I know I already said that),_

_Ianto._

Jack, though ecstatic, attempted to maintain his composure. The evening's events seemed to have reached a climax, and it was up to him to finish it off. He picked a card and wrote his message on it. It was only after closing the card that he realised it contained a picture of the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus. Now that he saw this he didn't really find his message very appropriate. He scribbled it out and just folded a scrap piece of paper, then re-wrote his message.

* * *

Jack didn't speak as he gave Ianto the card. He did however wink, which was surely a good sign. Ianto's hands shook as he opened the card, until he finally read the message within:

_To Ianto,_

_I love you too._

_Now get into my office so I can fuck you like an animal._

_The Captain._

Ianto wasted no time. And later that night, as he lay in Jack's arms, he realised that perhaps Christmas cards weren't so bad after all...

**The End (or is it?)**

* * *

_You can finish reading here if you want. I know you're not going to, but I'm just saying that it would work either way._


	3. Chapter 3

Ianto didn't see Gwen until after Boxing Day, as she had had time off to be with Rhys. He couldn't help but feel smug as he approached her.

"Hey Gwen," he said.

"Hello, Ianto," said Gwen sweetly. "Have a good Christmas?"

"Oh, _very _good," confirmed Ianto, thinking of a certain stopwatch. "By the way, Jack showed me the card you gave him. It was very nice."

"Oh, I don't put too much trouble into them," admitted Gwen. "They're all pretty much the same. Sometimes I alter them a little just so I don't get bored, changing the messages to the occasional 'Happy Christmas' or 'Love Gwen'. Completely at random, of course. See ya." She then smiled, shrugged, and went about her work, leaving Ianto dumbstruck.

**The _Real_ End**

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed :)_

_Please give me a belated Christmas present and review!_


End file.
